ADL slam 'deeply offensive' circumcision cartoon

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) on Thursday called a cartoon depicting the Jewish ritual circumcision appearing in the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet, “deeply offensive and appalling.”

In a statement sent to the press, Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, wrote that the cartoon was an "appalling distortion of a core Jewish ritual."

The cartoon, published in Tuesday's paper, shows a child being cut to pieces, while his mother stands beside him holding a blood-drenched spanner. The mother tells two police officers: "Abuse? No, it's tradition, an important part of our beliefs." To which the officers answer "Beliefs? Oh, that's alright."

The lobby organization called on the editors of Dagbladet to issue an official apology and for other government and societal leaders in Norway to speak out against the cartoon.